Body to draft law on Bangsamoro can propose Charter change – chief govt negotiator

From InterAksyon (Dec 18): Body to draft law on Bangsamoro can propose Charter change – chief govt negotiator

A newly formed body tasked to draft the law creating the Bangsamoro region can recommend constitutional amendments, although Charter change is not a priority of the Aquino administration, the new government chief negotiator to peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front said. Aquino created the Transition Commission through Executive Order No. 120 and assigned it an initial budget of P100 million. The government’s aim “is to install the Bangsamoro through a new organic act as soon as possible in order to have an elected Bangsamoro government by 2016,” Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, government peace panel chair, said on Tuesday. Coronel-Ferrer replaced Marvic Leonen, who has been appointed an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

A framework agreement signed by the government and MILF mandates the creation of the Bangsamoro entity to replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, created under a peace deal with the Moro National Liberation Front, as a requisite for a final peace pact. Coronel-Ferrer said the work of the Transitional Commission does not prevent the body “or its members from examining the Constitution and recommending constitutional reforms." "However, the President has made clear that constitutional change is not his priority during his term," she added.

The commission will be composed of eight representatives from the MILF, including its chairman, and seven from government, with a slot reserved for the MNLF. Presidential peace adviser Teresita Quinto-Deles said the creation of the commission "affirms the President's resolve to move forward the peace process for the Bangsamoro.” The commission will also help identify development programs together with the Bangsamoro Development Authority and the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute, two institutions affiliated with the MILF.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/50689/body-to-draft-law-on-bangsamoro-can-propose-charter-change--chief-govt-negotiator